Author: Barbara Delinsky
Published: February 26th 2016 by Piatkus
Blurb: Home is where the heart is ... but what happens when a mother and daughter are forced to question everything they thought they knew about themselves? Don't miss the next novel from beloved bestselling author Barbara Delinsky, who "combines her understanding of human nature with absorbing, unpredictable storytelling (Publishers Weekly)" in ways that no reader will soon forget.
Jamie MacAfee's life is almost perfect. She loves her fiancée, even if she hasn't quite worked out why she won't set a wedding date and she certainly adores her job, working as an architect on their family home renovation show. Meanwhile, her beloved mother Caroline has built up her confidence after a painful divorce, working closely alongside her daughter as the very successful host of Gut It!. Everything is going to plan, until the lives of both women are changed overnight.
When the TV network plan to replace Caroline with Jamie as the show's host, Caroline is left feeling horribly betrayed - and old in the eyes of the world. Then tragedy strikes, leaving Jamie guardian to her small orphaned step-brother and fiancée to a man who doesn't want the child.
First of all I would like to thank the publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
Review: Blueprints is a story about family, above all. Caroline and Jamie are mother and daughter but also best friends. They both work for the family company, Caroline as a carpenter, and Jamie as an architect. And they also work together on the renovation show linked to the company, Gut It. Caroline has been the host for years and the audience adore her but the producers think she is getting too old and who could be better to fill her shoes than her daughter? That Caroline doesn't take this well is the understatement of the year. So this situation opens a gap in their tight relationship. But this is only the premise for the story and it happens rather soon in the book. What happens later is so much more, but SO much more.
After a tragic and sudden accident, Jamie needs to take care of her little step-brother. Something that completely changes her life. With no support from her fiance and Caroline occupied with other matters, she feels alone and overwhelmed so when she meets an old school acquaintance in the park who is also a single parent she seeks comfort in him. What happens next is not unexpected, I mean, once you get over the shock, you see clearly where the story is going but what surprised me most was the pace of the story. In a few pages so much could happen! This bothered me a bit at the beginning as I was still processing everything and felt like the characters were acting without really thinking.
But then, I realised I was starting to care for these characters and I really wanted to support them, especially Jamie. I got that she thought that she had everything figured out and then, in a minute, her whole life changed and she no longer knew anything. The changes in Caroline were not as drastic but I enjoyed reading about her. And I could see that the bond she had with her daughter was strong, even with all their differences.
For a moment there, I thought I was not going to like this book. As I said, everything seemed to happen at once. But I am glad that I persevered because it turned out that I did like this book. I enjoyed the story and it kept me quite hooked. It is definitely a book full of drama, rushed decisions, mistakes and reconciliations. And even if it was a bit predictable where all was going, the author did manage to surprise me a couple of times and made me care for the characters like they were all friends. All in all, a touching read about what's important in life.
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